POLICE officials yesterday threatened to disperse and arrest protesters if they become unruly during today’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Marcos Jr.
“Hopefully, no one would be unruly… If they will become unruly and it will affect the public, we have no recourse but to restrain them,” said PNP director for operations Maj. Gen. Valeriano de Leon.
“We will disperse them first and if they won’t follow us, we will have to arrest them,” said De Leon.
PNP spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo said policemen will try their best to exercise maximum tolerance. “But if it will reach the point where they will harm our policemen, snatch the shield of the CDM (civil disturbance management) personnel, we will we forced to initiate appropriate actions and that includes arrest of those violating the law,” she said.
The Quezon City government has allowed progressive group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan to march from Elliptical Road up to Commonwealth Avenue corner Tandang Sora Avenue from 9 a.m. to noon only on SONA day. It earlier denied the group’s application to be allowed to hold protest actions along Batasan Road because the mass action will affect traffic flow and because the road is not a freedom park where rallies are allowed to be held.
The President is expected to deliver his address at around 4 p.m. at the Batasang Pambansa complex.
“Our appeal to the rallyists is to hold their protest actions in a very peaceful manner, after all you were already given the time and place (to hold the protest actions),” said De Leon.
“Let us confine ourselves to that. Let us not go beyond the allowed time and area of the rally,” he said.
De Leon reiterated his appeal to the protesters to reconsider their decision to hold protest actions during Marcos’ first SONA.
“I hope they will consider listening to the first SONA of the President because this is his first SONA and we will know from here the country’s direction in the next six years,” said De Leon.
“Also, they (protesters) still have no issue. He (Marcos) has yet to lay down (his programs) so I hope our countrymen will consider listening rather than be on the streets unnecessarily,” he added.
MAXIMUM TOLERANCE
De Leon said policemen should exercise maximum tolerance.
He said the PNP is appealing to the protest organizers “to ensure that peace and order are maintained just as we assure them that our personnel on the ground will abide by the instruction of our PNP OIC (officer-in-charge) Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr that we will exercise maximum tolerance,” he added.
While the PNP will respect the rights of the protesters to peaceably assemble and air their grievances, “we also expect them (protesters) to respect our personnel who would be deployed in the area because they would only perform their job of maintaining peace and order for everybody, including the protesters themselves,” said De Leon.
De Leon expressed hope there won’t will be no “confrontation” or “tension” between members of the progressive groups and Marcos supporters who have been allowed to gather along Batasan Road will not clash. Separate teams of policemen will guard the two groups.
Fajardo said the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology will make available a mobile jail to house unruly protesters.
The PNP will deploy some 22,000 policemen, soldiers and force multipliers during the SONA. The personnel include those who are manning border checkpoints and traffic.
Fajardo said the PNP has made initial deployment of personnel around Batasang Pambansa complex yesterday morning.
GUN BAN
She also said nine people have been so far arrested for violation of a Metro Manila-wide gun ban that is being imposed from July 22 to 27 as part of the SONA preparations.
Fajardo said the violators said they were not aware of the gun ban being enforced by the PNP.
“We have been saying weeks ago, we made a wide dissemination, that we will be implementing a gun ban to make sure people will not be surprised,” she said.
As to threat, De Leon said the PNP has not received “any report of any serious threat, except the conduct of rally.”
Fajardo said the PNP continues to conduct intelligence information monitoring and gathering.
“We’ve been receiving raw information that there will be pocket rallies not only around Batasan complex. That’s why our policemen continue to be vigilant to ensure there will be no violence on Monday,” she said.
